When your cocktail arrives under a tall glass cloche, in a mushroom-shaped vessel, on what looks like a piece of moss-covered forest floor, you might look to make sure your dining companion has not morphed into a grinning Cheshire cat or an Oompa Loompa. With the Guest House, the New Waterloo folks and the people behind Ember have created a dining experience that appears to be a mash-up of Las Vegas and Willy Wonka. The velvet banquettes remain from sedate, now-defunct Le Politique, but the audience that frequented that downtown bistro has changed, skewing young, with bandage dresses and ripped jeans all on display. The succinct menu is hard to summarize, including chicken tenders and sliders (is anybody really bringing kids here?) but also caviar service and a $15,000 bottle of wine. But at the heart of the experience are over-the-top presentations—and the food is consistently delicious too. Our dinner began with a gorgeous complimentary bread service (as well it should, at these prices). The Moroccan-spiced charred beet salad with cucumber yogurt was prettily plated and its flavors almost restrained. Seared diver scallops arrived on a lusciously thick puddle of caramelized-corn foam, while beef filet with a Parmesan and truffle crust paired beautifully with an on-point veal reduction. The far-from-ordinary creamed spinach—blitzed to almost a fluff—was warmed by a hint of nutmeg. The miso mushrooms were simply an umami bomb.